Thanks for coming over to wordpress with me. I liked blogger except I was limited with their design options and was getting a lot of feedback from you all wanting to receive your blog feeds via email instead of having to log into Google Reader or having to check the site directly. I have brought my previous posts over so you can still search around and have them as references.

If you have any wishes for a specific post – definitely send me an email! whiskywomanblog at gmail dot com

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Grab your friends and take a quick ride on the subway for the perfect Saturday!

Read on…

If you live in the New York area (or happen to be in town for a visit), you’ll be happy to add the following to your weekend schedule. Kings County Distillery (aka “New York City’s oldest distillery” … and … well …. it’s our only distillery) is open for free tours & tastings at their Brooklyn distillery THIS Saturday! They are only open to the public 1 day / month so make sure you mark your calendar and head on over.

I had the pleasure of visiting this great, hidden gem last month and have been savoring my purchase ever since.

Added bonus – the Kings County Jerky company is just down the hall from the distillery! Make sure you stop in and sample some of their amazing grass-fed beef jerky. They make many creative, different & delicious flavors – I can’t think of a more perfect pairing than beef to go with a strong, smoky bourbon!

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It wouldn’t be right for me not to do a quick little post about this. House of Walker is doing a FREE tasting event at the Skylight Soho (275 Hudson @ Dominick) at 6:30pm this Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening.

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I had the pleasure of attending a Johnnie Walker Master Class which was led by Diageo’s Master of Whisky, John Heffernan. He was great – very entertaining & quickly put everyone at ease (or was that all of the whisky we were tasting?). John proudly wore a kilt and got you excited to ride the Johnnie Walker journey, starting us off with this video and a little story about the filming process…

As you can see, there is no place for a cut so this needed to be performed in one clean take. Apparently, during the 1st two days of shooting the actor couldn’t get the timing just right with the script and the props. On the second night, tired and probably feeling a little fed-up, the crew went out for drinks. One drink turned into two, two turned into three … and so on. The next morning, feeling a little hungover, everyone came together and the actor nailed it on the first take. Surely this isn’t the kind of story you share with your 6 year old niece… “And the moral of this story is…?“

On the menu that evening was Johnnie Walker Black, Green, Gold & Blue (no Red) as well as two single malts that, in addition to their own bottlings, are used in some of the Johnnie Walker blends. Cardhu 12yr – a delightfully pure and easy single-malt whiskey that was recently re-released back into the US market. I love this scotch for it’s uncomplicated, lightly sweet flavor and perfect finish which makes it a great whiskey for the novice, master and everyone in between. The other single malt we tasted was Talisker – from the Talisker Distillery, which I find interesting to note is the only distillery on the Isle of Skye. This particular scotch is so briny and salty (much like it’s surrounding terrain), I totally understood why John suggested adding a drop of this whisky to oysters on the 1/2 shell or your adding “a little more than a splash” to your next bloody mary … deeeelish.

During the tasting, John said something interesting about the Johnnie Walker Labels that I thought I’d share with you. For him, he finds that the flavor of the blends somewhat match the colors of their labels. For example, Johnnie Walker Black has strong notes of pepper & smoke. Johnnie Walker Green has hints of pine, fresh-cut hay, and earth. JW Gold tastes like toffee, almond and cream. Johnnie Walker Red (which we didn’t taste that day) reminds him of cinnamon – specifically the Red Hot Candies. When you suck on one for a minute and then take it out of your mouth, on your next inhale you get that zing inside your mouth – that, he said, has a similar mouth-feel for him as the JW Red. I really enjoy this easy-to-remember tip. I find that it helps me visualize the flavors which can make for a much faster decision at the bar or at the store!

Lastly, John mentioned that even though the Johnnie Walker Blue label is the most expensive of the JW blends, doesn’t me an that it [should] default as everyone’s favorite. In fact, Johnnie Walker’s Master Distiller (who, lets face it, could have any scotch he’d like) likes Johnnie Walker Red the best! Just goes to show that there’s no right or wrong answer to the question, “What is the best whisk(e)y” – it’s a matter of personal opinion – just drink what you like!

(this blog post first appeared on TUESDAY, APRIL 12th at WhiskyWoman’s original home: http://whiskywoman.blogspot.com/)

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I find it only fitting that my first posting be on the heels of such a great event. I am talking about New York’s WhiskyLive event (held on April 6th) – and what an event it was!

WhiskyLive is unlike any tasting I have ever been to. Before I get into the spirits – let me bring you up to speed first on a few of the details. WhiskyLive is a manageable (not to big, def not too small), fun (does this really need an explanation?), whisky-focused expo-type of event where you go to taste some truly beautiful, and often unique whiskies. WL has events in major cities in the US and all around the world. You can find out more information about them here. You can save some money by purchasing your tickets in advance but for those of you who have have a hard time making commitments, you can buy your tickets at the door. In addition to a variety of booths who showcased everything from whisky & chocolate pairings (thank you, Cellar Door Chocolates for a truly unique experience) to scotch based cocktails to maker’s mark signature dipped shot glass – there was also a buffet dinner, live music, and master classes.

Who was there?

The classics were all there: in the blend category you of course have Johnny Walker & Chivas Regal; for the single-malt scotch lovers, you’d be disappointed not to have seen Glenlivet & Macallan there. Bourbon: Makers Mark & Four Roses…. You get the idea. Then you can get into the smaller, lesser known (or better known depending on which circle you travel in) boutique products. I’m talking about anCnoc 16yr old which is a little more spicy and has a bit more of an impact on your tongue than their delicious and very approachable 12yr. There was Copper Fox, a rocking rye that lingered on your pallet long enough to make you smile, pucker up, and go back for more. It smelled of warm vanilla (yum!) and was smooth yet bright. I was intrigued and delighted by Scott’s Selection line of products. They take some of the best casks from different distilleries in Scotland and bottle them at cask strength – no added water or chill filtering to ensure the purest form of the Scotch. What a treat! I was also really surprised and delighted to have tried Tomatin. They were sampling the 12, 15 & 18 but the surprise was the 30 year and 50 year samples that were brought over for the event. The 30yr was a special blend that included both a peated barley malt and non-peated malts. From the first smell to the moment it hit my lips, I knew I was in love. And then I was poured a sample of the 50yr. It had such depth and character – I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. This was a real treat for everyone at the event because these two products have not even been bottled yet. They literally had 2 old-school shaped bottles with hand-written labels stuck to their fronts. Just perfect.

It was a great night for the event, too. Situated inside Chelsea Piers at pier 60 with views of the Hudson River, it was just chilly enough and just rainy enough to keep you inside sipping drams and chatting your way around the tables. At the end of the evening, we walked out on the banks of the Hudson into the misty rain – for a quick moment I imagined myself in Scotland! (The imagery was probably helped by the fact that I was standing next to a group of kilt-clad men!).

I was excited and inspired to see so many women attend the event. They were right there side-by-side sipping, tasting, & exploring with the men. It was such a great evening and a truly fun event. I met some really interesting women in the business, many of whom will be contributing to this blog at some point over the next few months. A special thank you to David Sweet for organizing such a great & successful evening! I will end this first post with one quote:

“The only wrong way to drink whisky is to not!” – David Sweet

Welcome aboard, ladies.

(this blog post first appeared on FRIDAY, APRIL 8th at WhiskyWoman’s original home: http://whiskywoman.blogspot.com/)